Next month marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine. There are no signs that Vladimir Putin is considering backing down, despite the West’s increasing involvement. That includes President Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. is sending 31 tanks to Ukraine and providing training to operate the equipment. When Putin first threatened to invade Ukraine, he gambled that Western countries wouldn’t intervene. And in the past, it hadn’t.
The U.S. tacitly allowed Putin to annex Crimea and invade Georgia. It’s all part of his goal to restore the glory of the old Soviet Union. A new Frontline documentary, “Putin and the Presidents,” explores why American presidents, dating back to Bill Clinton, have declined to aggressively confront Putin, and why it sets the state for his invasion of Ukraine.